wenches er... winches

   / wenches er... winches #1  

mdbarb

Gold Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2000
Messages
367
Location
Northern California
Tractor
B21
I'm considering adding an electric winch to my Kubota B21
Any suggestions? I suppose I should get something strong enuf to pull the tractor or another vehicle out of stuck so it should have a remote.I'm not sure on capactiy, where would I mount it, easy to install, etc.....
 
   / wenches er... winches #2  
mdbarb,
Do you plan on making your winch portable?
I would consider your tongue hitch for a location.
I found out the hard way /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif when you are stuck in 4wd you better have a winch or come long that can pull twice the weight that your pulling.

Have you check out Ox winches,for they now have a good line also remotes that can take abuse.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
 
   / wenches er... winches #3  
Mdbarb,

Interesting idea although I don't know where you could mount a winch that would not be in the way of your loader or backhoe. The B21 is around 3750 lbs, if your tires are loaded you are pushing 4000 lbs., you will need a 4 - 6000lbs winch to do the job. I don't remember the electrical output on the B21 so check that out. An electric winch draws a lot of juice. Let us know what you figure out.

Mark
 
   / wenches er... winches #4  
Mark,

I'm not sure you can get there from here. A typical 12 volt winch at working load may draw 40 to 60 Amps. Under stall conditions 4 times that. The B21(and other compacts) have a pretty minimal electrical capacity. I could not find anything in my Kubota manuals that specify the battery capacity nor the alternator output. I would guess based on size the alternator is no more than 30 amps, and the battery 50 AmpHours at best.

One thing the B21 does have is a healthy Hydraulics capability. Take a look at hydraulic driven winches. This is one I just searched to give you an idea http://www.milemarker.com/.

Good luck let me know which way you go./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
 
   / wenches er... winches #5  
Years ago I had a heavy duty electric winch on my 4X4. It was real handy but extremely hard on the electrical system. Think of running your starter motor under load for several minutes at a time. Even if you only need to pull 10 feet to get unstuck, you still have to spool in the other 140 feet of cable since the closest tree was 150 feet away. Unless you plan on getting stuck a lot, I'd consider one of those high lift jacks (looks a bit like a really heavy duty, old fashioned bumper jack). They have features to hook chains to so they can be used as a come-along/winch. Slow, but much cheaper and easier on your tractor. I've seen them used to lift one end of a stuck truck, then the owner pushed sideways and the truck was out of the ruts. Also handy for lifting logs, stretching fence and shop chores. Seems they run around $50 at Quality Farm. Hope this helps,

Rob
 
   / wenches er... winches #6  
A electric winch will really load your electrical system. These tractors have puny alternators. There are some good batteries that would help you, like a yellow-top Optima. It was designed for hi-discharge.

If you wanted to spend some $$$, there's a couple things you could do. First, upgrade you alternator to a Premier Alternator/welding system. This would give you 200A capability, compared to the Kubota unit which has something like 10 amp output. This system gives you 110vac, a lot of current at 12vdc, and is also a arc welder. It is very popular with hard-core 4-wheelers, because it has enough output to run lights, winch, and you can weld the part you just broke while crawling over rocks.

For a winch, it's hard to beat a Warn 8274 for a electric version. Tough, tough winch!

The Milemarker hydraulic winch might be nice; it would seem to reason that if they can run that winch from a power steering pump, then our tractor hydraulics could easily run it.

Then, there's alway the hi-lift jack. It can winch, pull, push, clamp.

Look at these:
http://www.warn.com/Home/
http://www.premierpowerwelder.com/index2.html
http://www.milemarker.com/
http://www.optimabatteries.com/main.htm
http://www.rescue42.com/jackmate.html



RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif
 
   / wenches er... winches #7  
That JackMate device looks pretty nifty. I'll have to check into one of those.

One more thing I remember from the electric winch days: My winch never seemed to be on the right end of my vehicle. I've heard that you can run the cable under the vehicle for a rearward pull (assuming front bumper mount), but the thought of swimming through all that mud never appealed to me. I do recall using a manual come-along to pull my truck out of a spot where the front mounted winch was buried in several feet of thick, gooey mud. Friends with tow straps are handy too /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Rob
 
   / wenches er... winches #8  
Since receiver hitches are so popular now, winch mounting plates are available that just plug in to your reciever.

The only issue then, is you need power cables run to both the front and rear of the vehicle. You also need a front receiver mount.

There are a couple advantages to this. It does not have to sit on your bumper, placing constant pressure on your front springs. It does not have to take the brunt of weather, bugs, grime and such that it would be exposed to while mounted to the front bumper. This all assumes you have room for it in the bed of your truck, or the back compartment of your SUV, ect.

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif
 
   / wenches er... winches
  • Thread Starter
#9  
excellent information! I will look into those links. One of my favorite joys of a new tool is defining the need, discovering the tools then redefining the need to fit the new tools I discovered
!
 
   / wenches er... winches #10  
Mdbarb,

I knew I had it somewhere. The B21 has a 40 amp alternator.
Hope the info helps in your search.

Mark
 
 
 
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